Nebraska Hoops Game Day: Illinois

Kasparas JakucionisGFr.6-6/205True freshman who leads Illinois with 15.9 points and 5.4 assists per game this season. That includes posting 11 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists last time out vs. Northwestern.Kylan BoswellGJr.6-2/205Arizona transfer averaging 12.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He led Illinois with 17 points in the win over Northwestern.Tre WhiteGJr.6-7/210Former USC and Louisville transfer averaging 10.3 points on 49.3% shooting from the field with 5.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game this season. Ben HumrichousFSr.6-9/225He averages 8.9 points per game and leads Illinois with 42 made 3-pointers while shooting 36.8% from behind the arc on the season. Morez Johnson Jr.FFr.6-9/255A true freshman who ranks second on the team with 6.5 rebounds per game and is tied for first with 1.2 blocks per game. He had 15 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks against Northwestern.

3 keys to victory

Crash the glass

Rebounding has been critical for Nebraska all season, especially finishing defensive possessions and limiting second-chance opportunities for its opponents. That element might be more important than ever tonight against Illinois. The Fighting Illini have been one of the most dominant teams in the country on the glass. They lead the nation with an 11.5 rebounding margin and rank second in the Big Ten and 24th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (36.3). Wisconsin just out-rebounded Nebraska 43-35 last time out in Madison. Illinois could feast on multiple-shot possessions if the Huskers don’t bring better effort on the glass tonight. The good news for NU is that the Illini’s top rebounder, Tomislav Ivisic (8.5 rpg), will miss his third straight game with Mono tonight.

Get back to attacking

Looking across Illinois’ defensive statistics and analytics, finding a weakness is difficult. The Fighting Illini rank in the top 15 nationally in effective field goal percentage (8th, 44.0), defensive 3-point percentage (10th, 28.5), adjusted defensive efficiency (12th, 93.4), and defensive 2-point percentage (15th, 44.5). In other words, scoring won’t be easy for Nebraska tonight. The Huskers can best hope to counter Illinois’ defensive strength by going right at the Illini. The Huskers have been at their best this year when scoring at the rim or drawing fouls for free throws. In particular, NU needs Brice Williams to turn up his aggressiveness off the dribble. Before the loss at Wisconsin, Williams had made 29-of-30 free throws over the previous six games. He went 1-of-2 against the Badgers, and Nebraska got the line a season-low eight times.

Get back to being gritty

With every loss that’s piled up in January, Nebraska has strayed further from the identity that fueled its 12-2 start. When the Huskers were rolling, they hung their hats on elite defense and being the tougher, more aggressive team. NU can only hope to turn its season around by getting back to that type of grittiness. It starts tonight with better rebounding and attacking on offense. However, the most significant x-factor is Nebraska’s defensive effort. When it’s locked in on that end of the floor, it can beat anyone on its schedule. However, we haven’t seen that level of defense since the win over UCLA. The Huskers must play tonight – and every game the rest of the way – as if their entire season is on the line. That’s the reality for NU right now after six straight conference losses.

Quotable

“We can’t have a ‘here we go again’ mentality, and I’ve seen that. When the ball isn’t going in the basket, when teams are hitting shots … heads drop, and we just are not worth a damn when that happens.”

-Head coach Fred Hoiberg on Nebraska needing to maintain its confidence after six straight losses.

Prediction

Illinois (-2.5) 75, Nebraska 71

Robin’s season record: 17-3

Vs. the spread: 10-10

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